


Palate

by DuskyDancing



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cravings, F/M, Felileth Week (Fire Emblem), Fluff, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuskyDancing/pseuds/DuskyDancing
Summary: Pregnancy has left Byleth with some strange cravings, and some even stranger observations about her husband.For Felileth Week - Day 4 - Sweet/Spicy/Bitter
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 6
Kudos: 81





	Palate

'Anxious' was not an emotion that Felix would have used often to describe himself. Rarely did he allow himself to become overwhelmed or worried. But now, watching his very exhausted, very pregnant wife ascend the stairs to her Archbishop's chambers, that term became more accurate by the second.

"I'm fine," Byleth had repeatedly assured him, looking anything but fine. As always with her, offers to help in any way were immediately denied and brushed off. She could be so goddamn stubborn, even if it was one of the many traits he loved about her.

When she stopped to take a break halfway up the second staircase and braced herself against the wall, he'd seen enough. He couldn't just settle with holding her hand anymore.

"Come here, you."

Without warning, he supported her full weight under one arm and gently scooped her legs under the other.

"Gah- Felix! I'm fine, put me down!" She protested with her words, but her body thanked him by relaxing into his hold. He took that as the only answer he needed.

"You've been working all day all over the monastery," he said. "Just...let me take care of you for once."

She grumbled, but stopped arguing. Felix wasn't the kind of man who needed to have a wife to look after and take care of, but even he sometimes wished Byleth would use him more often, especially now.

He quickly reached her chambers - well, technically _their_ chambers since he'd moved back from the Dukedom - and opened the door skillfully with one leg without setting her down. A few more strides later, and she was lying comfortably on their bed.

"There, now that wasn't so bad," he said.

"My knight in shining armour," she sighed.

Her obvious attempt at teasing went mostly unrewarded, besides a playful narrowing of his eyes. "I'll bring you food from the kitchen. What do you feel like having?"

Before the pregnancy, he'd always known the answer to that question - basically anything - but now that answer seemed to change day by day, hour by hour. The dish she craved one day would make her nauseous just by mentioning it the next day.

"Hmm," she tapped her chin, and he could hear her tongue clicking behind her teeth. "Maybe something sweet." Easy enough. Since Annette started teaching at the academy, she kept the kitchen well stocked with- "and spicy," Byleth added. Okay, sweet _and_ spicy. That limited his options, but wasn't imposs- "Oh! Bitter too!" _Goddammit_.

"Byleth," he sighed, "that's like three completely different flavors. They won't all taste good in the same dish."

The pout that followed told him she'd already had her mind set. It also softened his heart a bit. He'd gotten so used to seeing her as a deadly force in battle, or a world leader addressing a room full of stuffy noble heads, or the Archbishop leading church ceremonies she didn't fully understand, or his sparring partner meeting his gaze with fierce determination. To see her so...adorably expressive...felt like witnessing another side to his wife that was reserved just for him.

The room suddenly felt warmer, and Felix pursed his lips and turned away before she could catch on.

"I'll find you something," he promised.

He started on the bitter flavor by brewing some Almyran Pine Needle tea. They'd shared the same blend many times before, during, and after the war, so he hoped she'd still like it with her ever-changing palate.

Just as he expected, Annette kept the kitchen stocked with cupcakes. He debated himself on how many to take back upstairs. Would she just want one? Two?

He settled on a dozen just in case.

He lucked out when searching for something spicy. Whenever Dedue accompanied Dimitri to Garreg Mach, which was always, the kitchen made the man's recipes for weeks after their departure. Duscur was known for its spices, and no shortage was found in the stew that had been served that day.

He gathered a generous amount into a bowl and set the tea and desserts on a platter. Seeing Felix so active in the kitchen would have been a rare sight six months ago, but now no one questioned him as he made his way through the dining hall. The most he caught were strange glimpses at the seemingly random items on his tray, but he couldn't care less what they thought.

He'd made it back up to their chambers in record time, but the gentle smile she greeted him with nearly stopped him in his tracks.

"I-um," he collected himself and set the tray next to their bed. "Hope you like it."

"Felix," she was doing it again, looking at him like _that_. "It's perfect, thank you."

"Good," he cracked a rare smile, bent over, and kissed her forehead. "Now enjoy some peace."

As he straightened himself to leave her alone, however, her hand found his. "Felix, wait," she said. "You were wrong earlier."

"Was I now?" his other hand rested on his hip.

"Mhmm," she nodded. "Sweet, spicy, and bitter _can_ exist in the same place."

"Technically, I guess, since they're all there." he pointed to her plate.

"No," she chuckled and pulled him closer. "I was talking about you."

"Uh-" Felix's whole body went stiff, completely thrown off by her words.

_Spicy?_ That was fair; his tongue could be sharper than his sword. _Bitter?_ Any friend of his would say his company was an acquired taste, and not for everyone. But _Sweet?_ Felix couldn't think of a word that was further from describing him and his palate. He could barely stand sugar itself as a taste.

Byleth could have been teasing him, but she regarded him with a deep sincerity and affection he'd never seen before. He was curious.

"Is that a compliment?"

She sat up and nodded, and he stepped closer. "You dropped your duties and joined me here the moment I told you I was expecting, you took on training the students when I couldn't, you carry me upstairs to bed, and you bring me food every night." She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. "Admit it, Felix, you're sweet."

He blushed and turned away. Damnit, she was right, and he both hated and loved that she was right.

He sat beside her on the bed and pulled her close. "Only for you."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she hummed and melted into him.

Even if he barely showed it, the thought of Byleth as a mother - the mother of _his_ child - excited him. The thought of himself as a father, however, worried him. To be responsible for a whole other helpless life? In the balance between discipline and lenience, or hardening and nurturing, Felix knew he tipped the scales far into the former. He wasn't sure he knew how to be present enough, caring enough.

"Oh!" Byleth startled in his arms.

"What is it?" He frantically looked her over. Was she hurt? Sick? Oh shit, was the baby coming already?!

"I'm fine, feel this." She took his hand and guided it to her belly.

He questioned her until a tiny thump met his hand. Thinking he'd imagined it, he pressed his palm flush to her and locked his gaze with it.

There it was again, a little stronger and slightly to the side from where he'd felt it before. A tiny foot, by the feel of it. A laugh escaped his hard defenses, and his eyes couldn't leave the point of contact if he wanted them to.

"They're fighting already," Byleth said.

When her fingers brushed over his face, he realized he'd started crying. Instead of turning his face and hiding like he'd always done, however, he braced the vulnerability and met her gaze.

"What else did you expect?" He leaned in and kissed her forehead again. "You're amazing, By."

Sure, he was worried about parenthood, but if Byleth believed in him then how bad could it be?

**Author's Note:**

> This started out silly then got soft and fluffy at the end. Sorry, I couldn't resist.


End file.
